National Scrapbooking Day 2013

Today is National Scrapbooking Day!

I'm away at a conference this weekend so I got started a little early.  I decided to incorporate my NSD post with Mother's Day.  So today you'll get a sneak preview and then I'll unveil the finished product later this week, in my Mother's Day post.

I decided to try my hand at making pieces with clay.  This project is centered around air-dry clay (the Scrapbooking piece will come later with the finished product).

I purchased some of Martha Stewart molds a few months ago.  They are really easy to use.  I made all of this with one pack of clay.  A little goes a long way.

                

Take a close look at the detail.  The pieces are so realistic.

Stay tuned to see what I do with them!

Strawberry Lemonade Cake in a Jar

My creative juices began to overflow this week.  I'm working on a few projects for Mother's Day and found myself experimenting in the kitchen.  I bought some mason jars back in the Fall and haven't down anything with them yet.  I've seen a few pins on Pinterest of people doing all sorts of things with mason jars, including baking in them.  So I decided to give it a try.

Spring is a perfect opportunity to bake a strawberry lemonade cake……yummy!

After adding and mixing all of the ingredients and poured the batter into the jars until they were about 2/3 full.  Next time, I'm going to go 1/2 full because I didn't have enough room left in the jar to decorate them like I wanted to.

I baked the cakes and let them cool, then used an apple corer to create a hole in the center of each cake:

 

the two small ones are cupcakes made from the extra batter.

I cut some fresh strawberries and inserted them into the center of each cake and then added a layer on top.  Then I added some creamy vanilla icing and a big juicy strawberry on top!

  

 The family loved them and they were absolutely delicious!

Have a great day!

Happy Easter

A few weeks ago, I stopped by my local Archivers store and they were doing a free make and take for Easter.  It was so adorable that I decided to make about 50 of these cute little bunny boxes.

I started with 12X12 decorative paper and cut it down into 6X6 squares.

• Score the paper on the plain side (or inside of box side if using 2-sided paper) at 2" and 4".
• rotate the paper 90^o and score again at 2" and 4".
  
• now turn the paper over and score diagonally from corner to corner.

Now fold the creases in and shape like this.  This is a stack of scored papers.  When I make several of something, I make everything in steps and then assemble.

I used a Paper Blossoms Leaf Punch to create the bunny ears (one large and one small)

I bagged them separately because each bunny needed one of each.  They are so close in size that it's easy to get them mixed up.

I used Pearlescent Chalk to dust the bunny ears and add a soft pink highlight to the cheeks and paws of the bunnies.  

I then added a few embellishments and ……

They were loved by everyone!  I hope that you enjoyed your Easter and found a creative way to celebrate.  I'd love to see how you put your crafting skills to use!

St. Patrick's Day

For St. Patrick's Day, we normally wear a touch of green and that's about it.  This year, I decided to impart some fun leading up to and on this Irish Holiday.

I've come to enjoy Pinterest and came across a neat idea for teacher gifts - here.  I put a twist on them and made them for my son's class.

This Sizzix Suitcase Die works nicely with my Cuttlebug.

For the 4 leaf clovers, I used my MS Four Leaf Clover punch and punch a few plant leaves.

Inside the suitcase….some tasty pop rocks!

Spring Ahead

To me, the time change is the first sign of Spring!  I'm anxious to create and find more time to do more of the timings that I enjoy.

Recently, a fellow Basketball Mom tore her ACL - OUCH!  She is such an outgoing person and really gets into the games even more that I do.  So it is really a set bak back for her to be down for the next couple of months.

I asked the parents of the team to help me in filling a "sweet treat" box for her.  I had to top it off with a quick card inspired by the emergence of Spring.

How are you welcoming Spring?